Danny Ward (Welsh footballer)

Daniel Ward (born 22 June 1993) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Leicester City and the Wales national team. Ward has also previously played for Liverpool and Wrexham as well as having loan spells at Tamworth, Morecambe, Aberdeen and Huddersfield Town. He was first called up to the Welsh national team in 2013 and made his debut in 2016. He was part of their squad that reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016.

For the English footballer, see Danny Ward (English footballer).

Danny Ward
Ward warming up for Liverpool in 2014
Personal information
Full name Daniel Ward[1]
Date of birth (1993-06-22) 22 June 1993[2]
Place of birth Wrexham, Wales
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Leicester City
Number 12
Youth career
2007–2011 Wrexham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Wrexham 0 (0)
2011 → Tamworth (loan) 1 (0)
2012–2018 Liverpool 2 (0)
2015 → Morecambe (loan) 5 (0)
2015–2016 → Aberdeen (loan) 21 (0)
2016–2017 → Huddersfield Town (loan) 45 (0)
2018– Leicester City 0 (0)
National team‡
2009 Wales U17
2010–2012 Wales U19 3 (0)
2012–2015 Wales U21 4 (0)
2016– Wales 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:49, 9 April 2017 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:11, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Wrexham

Ward was born in Wrexham.[2] He is a product of the Wrexham Academy, signing for them as a 14-year-old in 2007. In the 2010–11 season, Ward was briefly loaned out to Conference Premier rivals Tamworth, making just one appearance in a league match on 12 March 2011 in a 3–2 loss against Hayes & Yeading United.[4] He returned to Wrexham for the 2011–12 season and was promoted to the first team squad but only made it as far as the bench on a handful of occasions.

Ward with Brad Jones and Péter Gulácsi in 2012.

Liverpool

On 30 January 2012, it was announced that Liverpool had signed Ward for a fee of around £100,000.[5] He was quickly promoted to the Reserve team and featured in the 2011–12 NextGen Series where he played in the semi-finals.[6]

Ward got his first call-up to the Liverpool senior squad in a League Cup game against Swansea City on 31 October 2012 as an unused substitute.[7] His next senior call up wasn't until 12 January 2014 for a Premier League game against Stoke City where Ward was deputising for the injured Brad Jones.

In March 2015, he was loaned to League Two side, Morecambe for one month.[8][9] On 21 March 2015, he made his football league debut in an away game against Carlisle United.[10]

By the end of the 2014–15 season, Ward had been Liverpool's substitute goalkeeper in 23 of the club's 58 games, taking his tally of squad call-ups to 25.

On 23 June 2015, Ward signed a new five-year contract at Liverpool, keeping him at the club until 2020.[11] A few days later, he was loaned to Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen.[12] He made his debut for Aberdeen on 2 July 2015, against FK Shkëndija in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.[13] After the game, Aberdeen informed UEFA officials that Ward had been targeted by laser beams.[14]

Ward after the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final.

On 10 January 2016, Liverpool cut short Ward's loan at Aberdeen and he returned after impressing with 13 clean sheets in all competitions for the Dons, making him a firm fan favourite.[15] On 17 April 2016, Ward made his debut for Liverpool against Bournemouth in place of Simon Mignolet, where Liverpool won 2–1. The Welshman was called into action on several occasions in the second half, denying King twice before making a great late save from Grabban's close-range header.[16][17]

On 11 July 2016, he signed a season-long loan with Football League Championship side Huddersfield Town.[18] He made his competitive debut for the Terriers in their 2–1 win over Brentford on 6 August 2016.[19] Ward played in the play-offs for promotion, saving a total of three penalties, including two in the final against Reading, to help Huddersfield to promotion.[20][21]

Leicester City

On 20 July 2018, as the arrival of Alisson relegated him to fourth choice at Liverpool, Ward completed a move to fellow Premier League team Leicester City for around £12.5 million.[22][23] He made his debut on 28 August in the second round of the EFL Cup, keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 win over Fleetwood Town.[24] A month later in the next round, he saved three penalties in a shootout win at Wolverhampton Wanderers after keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw, and was praised by teammate Marc Albrighton.[25]

International career

Ward has represented Wales at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. He was capped three times for the under-19s and featured four times for the under-21s. He was called up to the senior team for the first time for a friendly match against Finland, and was an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw on 16 November 2013 at the Cardiff City Stadium.[26][27]

He made his senior debut as a half-time substitute for Wayne Hennessey in an international friendly against Northern Ireland on 24 March 2016, conceding from Craig Cathcart in a 1–1 draw at the same ground.[28] Ward was selected in Wales' 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016 and was handed his first start for his country in his third cap in their opening game of the tournament, a 2–1 victory over Slovakia, after Hennessey suffered a back spasm prior to the match.[29]

Ward missed Wales' participation in the 2018 China Cup when his passport got lost in the post during his visa application, and Michael Crowe was called up in his place.[30]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 24 January 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wrexham 2010–11[31] Conference Premier 0000——00
2011–12[32] Conference Premier 0000——00
Total 0000—0000
Tamworth (loan) 2010–11[33] Conference Premier 10———10
Liverpool 2014–15[34] Premier League 000000—00
2015–16[35] Premier League 200000—20
2017–18[36] Premier League 000010—10
Total 2000100030
Morecambe (loan) 2014–15[34] League Two 50———50
Aberdeen (loan) 2015–16[35] Scottish Premiership 21010106[lower-alpha 1]0290
Huddersfield Town (loan) 2016–17[37] Championship 43000102[lower-alpha 2]0460
Leicester City 2018–19[38] Premier League 001040—50
2019–20[39] Premier League 002020—40
2020–21[40] Premier League 0010102[lower-alpha 1]040
Total 00407020130
Career total 72050100100970
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in Championship play-offs

International
As of match played 18 November 2020[41]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Wales 201630
201710
201810
201920
202030
Total100

Honours

Liverpool

Huddersfield Town

References
  1. "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  2. "Danny Ward". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  3. "Danny Ward". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  4. "Danny Ward season details 2010/11". Tamworth Mad. Digital Sports Group. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  5. "Liverpool sign up Wrexham keeper Danny Ward". BBC Sport. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  6. "Match Report: Liverpool Reserves 0–6 Ajax". Liverpool F.C. 14 March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  7. "Liverpool 1–3 Swansea". BBC Sport. 31 October 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  8. "Morecambe: Danny Ward and Aaron Wildig join on loan". BBC Sport. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  9. "Ward completes Morecambe switch". Liverpool F.C. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  10. "Carlisle 1–1 Morecambe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  11. Lynch, David (23 June 2015). "Danny Ward agrees new Reds deal". Liverpool F.C.
  12. "Liverpool keeper joins The Dons". Aberdeen F.C. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  13. Spence, Jim (2 July 2015). "Shkendija 1–1 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  14. "Aberdeen FC contact Uefa over Shkendija laser beams". BBC News. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  15. "Liverpool to recall goalkeeper Danny Ward from Aberdeen early". BBC Sport. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  16. Gholam, Simeon (17 April 2016). "B'mouth 1 – 2 Liverpool – Match Report & Highlights". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  17. Jones, Neil (17 April 2016). "Bournemouth 1–2 Liverpool player ratings: Danny Ward impresses on debut, Sturridge and Allen continue to shine". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  18. Williams, Sam (11 July 2016). "Danny Ward signs new LFC deal and joins Huddersfield on loan". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  19. "Huddersfield Town 2–1 Brentford". BBC Sport. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  20. "Sheffield Wednesday 1–1 Huddersfield Town (agg: 1–1, 3–4 pens)". BBC Sport. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  21. "Huddersfield Town 0–0 Reading (4–3 pens)". BBC Sport. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  22. "Leicester City sign Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward for £12.5m". 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  23. "Leicester City sign Goalkeeper Danny Ward from Liverpool". Leicester City F.C. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  24. "Leicester 4-0 Fleetwood: Rachid Ghezzal strike caps off Foxes stroll". Sky Sports. PA Sport. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  25. Sharpe, James (29 September 2018). "Leicester City team-mates hail 'incredible' Danny Ward as keeper plays down penalty heroics". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  26. "International Friendly: Wales v Finland". FourFourTwo. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  27. Pope, Bruce (16 November 2013). "Wales 1–1 Finland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  28. "Wales v Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. 24 March 2016.
  29. "Euro 2016: Hennessey ruled out of Wales opener with back spasm". BBC Sport. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  30. Jacob, Gary (15 March 2018). "Danny Ward out of Ryan Giggs' Wales squad after losing passport". The Times.
  31. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2011). Non-League Club Directory 2012. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 150–151. ISBN 978-1-869833-70-1.
  32. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2012). Non-League Club Directory 2013. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0.
  33. Williams; Williams (eds.). Non-League Club Directory 2012. pp. 144–145.
  34. "Games played by Danny Ward in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  35. "Games played by Danny Ward in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  36. "Games played by Danny Ward in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  37. "Games played by Danny Ward in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  38. "Games played by Danny Ward in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  39. "Games played by Danny Ward in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  40. "Games played by Danny Ward in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  41. "Ward, Danny". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  42. McNulty, Phil (18 May 2016). "Liverpool 1–3 Sevilla". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  43. Woodcock, Ian (29 May 2017). "Huddersfield Town 0–0 Reading". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
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